


Trick or Treat; Or Why Evie Loves Halloween

by GrimalKim



Series: Through The Seasons [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Candy, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Good Parent Jim "Chief" Hopper, Grumpy Jim "Chief" Hopper, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Original Character(s), Romance, Sequel, Trick or Treating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:49:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27304414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimalKim/pseuds/GrimalKim
Summary: Hopper's been forced to hand out candy, and he's been forced to do it wearing a costume. But why? What is it about Halloween that makes his level headed girlfriend revert into a costume loving, spooky celebrating fanatic?
Relationships: Jim "Chief" Hopper/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Through The Seasons [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993543
Kudos: 2





	Trick or Treat; Or Why Evie Loves Halloween

“Remind me why I agreed to this again?”  
Jim Hopper was not happy – not that anyone could tell from the frown on his face since it matched the itchy, stupid costume he had been coerced into wearing by his currently too-happy girlfriend. Evie Carter had a seductive way with words, and she was one of the only people in Hawkins who could talk Hopper into doing just about anything. He grunted, tugging at the collar of the cheap suit jacket she had picked up a little too quickly after he relented to this stupid idea.  
She smiled at him, peering over her shoulder from where she was adjusting the Jack-o-Lanterns on the porch steps of her father’s house. Hopper had spent the afternoon watching her carve three of them with help from El. There had been a fourth for him, but it now sat in the kitchen, looking a little more drunk and a little less scary. Arts and crafts were not his forte, but he had been told that his pumpkin would sit in the window there where no one could throw anything at it. 

This had all started three days earlier, when Hopper had surrendered and said El could go Trick-or-Treating with her friends this year. She had been running around the cabin wearing that same damn sheet with the eyeholes cut out for over a week, begging and pleading for the chance to join them on their candy scavenger hunt. Before he could lay the ground rules, his girlfriend had placed her hand on his shoulder and asked if El couldn’t go wearing something a little…spookier. Well, the kid’s eyes lit up at that idea, and before Hopper could even ask what she was up to, Evie had ushered El into the bathroom where a small bag of make-up resided for the nights when she slept over. 

And that led into the conversation that she had talked her dad into opening the door to the kids this year.  
“He’s the only house on the whole street who doesn’t hand out candy. And then he’s going to phone you and moan about the toilet paper and egg all over his yard and car in the morning.” She had explained as Hop watched her make the popcorn for their movie night, arms folded across his chest as he waited to hear what she expected from him. He knew it was coming, he just didn’t know what _it_ was. “Anyway, he’s old and it takes him all his time to get to the door, so he said he’ll keep the porch light on if we go and do it.”  
“We?” Hopper asked, eyebrows raised.  
“Yeah, you and me.”  
“Why me? Your dad hates me.”  
“Oh, he doesn’t hate you!” She scoffed, pulling the jiffy pop from the stove top and glancing at him before sighing. “He thinks if you’re there then it’ll save him the trouble of phoning you in the morning if there are any problems. Plus, it can’t hurt for them to see the Chief’s car in the driveway.” She shrugged, and he watched her discard the popcorn temporarily to give him her full attention, her hands sliding up his chest as she spoke. “It’s El’s first _normal_ Halloween. Hawkins’ first one in a while, too. Look, my dad plans on locking himself in his den for the whole evening. We can just rent a couple of bad horror movies, eat some popcorn and pumpkin pie and hand out candy when the doorbell rings. El can meet us there when she’s done and then we all come home.”  
“You’re not going to make me wear a costume are you?”

The answer was yes. Yes, she was.

“It’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?” Hopper had asked, watching his adopted daughter run down the driveway of the Carter home to meet Mike and Lucas on the street.  
A donated dress from Nancy Wheeler looked unrecognisable now after Evie had poured fake blood over it. El’s candy bag was a pillow attached to a bouquet of artificial roses which too had turned sticky with the corn syrup and food dye concoction the science teacher had mixed up while Hopper had questioned her about the choice of costume.  
“I gave her a few suggestions and she liked this one the most.” She had shrugged, closing the door as the group ran off, promising to be back later when they did the rounds.  
“But _Carrie_?”  
“It’s not like anyone outside of the group will get the joke.” She assured him, spraying her hair in place with another blast of hairspray. “And she liked the idea that she could be herself tonight and it was normal. Although I did tell her not to actually go flipping cars or anything. She knows better than that anyway.”

Hopper didn’t want to think about the fight for the bathroom later tonight. He had no idea Evie took Halloween this seriously, and yet she had decorated the yard with pumpkins and cobwebs, the porch with cauldrons and a broomstick, with a plastic skeleton dancing in the wind at the garage door. He didn’t think the Carter house had ever embraced the season quite like this before. And once the house had looked the part, she had turned her attention to them.   
He had been first, putting up a fight as best as he could, but it was a little difficult when Evie had chosen to staddle his lap to apply the cold green face paint. Every time he struggled his crotch pressed up into hers and then it felt like a different fight entirely; and it was one she promised he could have later if he just behaved now. He had groaned and complained about every part of the process, but when she finally climbed off him – leaving him uncomfortable in a number of ways – Hopper had a green face with black painted on stitches.  
“What the hell is that?” He asked, when she held out a headband with two tin foil balls attached to either end.  
“Bolts. Well, they’ll look that way when you put it on.” She leaned over him, her chest in his eyeline now and Hopper found himself wondering if she was doing this deliberately to trick him into sitting still while she slipped the headband around the back of his thick neck, hiding the band itself for the most part, but leaving the “bolts” on show either side of his neck.  
“This isn’t comfortable.” He admitted, mumbling at her breasts before she stood upright again.  
“You only need it for when we open the door.” She promised, ushering him to change into the thrift store suit she had tattered and distressed for him.  
He had complained about it being a waste of money, but she had told him he could wear it again next year.  
 _Fat chance…_

Evie was green herself, and had turned a sheet into a dress of sorts, though Hopper could tell she had one of his Henley’s underneath for the bunched up sleeves and swathes of loose bandages wrapped around her arms. She had backcombed and sprayed her curls so they stood up from her skull, using talc to achieve a while stripe. She…looked good…for a monster.  
“Why are you so into this?” Hopper asked, as she came down the stairs. “Not every adult in the town dresses up just to hand out candy.” If Hopper had his way he wouldn’t even be handing out the candy…just eating it.  
“Into what?” She asked, pinning a few loose hairs at the back of her neck.  
“Halloween.”  
“Oh.” She fell silent, checking her hair in the hallway mirror once more before looking back at her boyfriend. “Joey.” She answered with a soft, sad smile. “He took me trick-or-treating when I was a kid, right before he shipped out. I remember being scared of a kid in a clown mask, and he told me that on Halloween the monsters weren’t real. That there wasn’t anything to be afraid of.” She rolled her eyes at Hop. “Yeah, I know now that advice doesn’t really apply to recent Halloweens in Hawkins, but I liked the sentiment.” She moved to fill the candy bowl, topping it up with lollipops and candy bars. Hopper noted she left aside the favourites of El and co, sliding them out of sight of the door. “Sometimes a kid needs to be told the monsters aren’t real, hell, sometimes an adult needs to hear it too – and back then with Joey going off to war…” She trailed off, and Hopper caught on. 

Halloween was one of her last memories of her big brother, one of the last times he gave her some childhood advice that she aged out of but occasionally still wrapped around herself like a blanket on a cold autumn night. It seemed fitting, on Halloween of all nights, she should hold close a memory of someone long passed. For one night every year she got to go back to that time, to a night when she held her brother’s hand and chased away the monsters. For Evie, every Halloween, Joey was alive again through that memory. She could greet the monsters at the door, wave them off with candy and best wishes, and revel in their celebrations. The monsters didn’t hurt her on Halloween, because her big brother took them all away, caged them in a memory no one could take from her. 

“It’s silly, I know.” She admitted when Hopper still hadn’t spoken.  
“No. No, it’s not.” Suddenly the itchy suit jacket and the heavy face paint stopped bothering him. The excitement over the last few days didn’t seem like so much after all. An afternoon carving pumpkins and watching her practically bathe in fake blood and make candy apples was strangely endearing. “I know I’ve said this before, but Joey would be so proud of you, y’know?” Hopper slipped his arms around Evie’s waist and tugged her closer, watching the smile pull at the corners of her red lips. “He’d probably want to kill me for touching his baby sister, but he’d still be proud of you despite your obvious bad choices in men.” She laughed, slapping a hand against his chest.   
“Thanks.”  
“And if you want me to wear this every Halloween until I’m old and grey and as grouchy as your dad then I will.” He pressed his lips to hers and felt her smiling into the kiss – though she pulled away much sooner than he would have liked.  
“You’re a lot softer than most people in this town think, Jim Hopper.”  
“Yeah? Well don’t go telling them that.” He smirked, pulling his pack of Camels from his pocket as she slipped out of his hold.  
Evie parted her lips, another thought on the tip of her tongue, when it was disturbed by the sound of the doorbell echoing though the hallway of the suburban home.  
“You ready?” She asked, grabbing the candy bowl and looking at Hopper.  
He took one more drag of the cigarette, quickly exhaling the smoke as he hid his hand behind his back and put the commonly recognised frown back in place as Evie wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and pulled.

“Trick or Treat!”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween!
> 
> So since my writing probably won't line up the seasonal celebrations with the actual times of the year for us writers and readers, I figure I'll do a bunch of one shots of Evie and Hopper to enjoy at these times xD
> 
> They'll be a separate little rambling taste of their life, short little glimpses into what goes on at these times, and just a bit of fun for us all, hopefully!
> 
> Enjoy!  
> <3


End file.
